Residents of Sapphire Street in Laudium have also complained this week about the ANC-led Tshwane Council, concerning poor service delivery.
Residents told the Laudium Sun that a sewage leak from a manhole drain, has been ongoing since last Wednesday (Nov 19), but despite many calls to the Council and Cllr Patel’s office, the leak continued for about 6 days.
Mohammed Farooq, a resident of Sapphire Street, told the Laudium Sun, “The leakage from the manhole started a few days ago and it’s now 5 days later and yet no one from the Council has come to fix it. The leakage has caused a foul smell in the area and there is faeces and other filth coming out from the drain, which is very un hygienic and detrimental to our health. The smell is terrible and we cannot even come out of our houses because the whole street is smelling so bad. Every time we step outside, the disgusting stench hits us immediately and it becomes impossible to breathe properly. The overflowing filthy sewage water continues to run down the street, spreading germs. We have children in our homes and this is very worrying because they cannot play outside or even walk to the park safely. There is a park right next to where the source of the leakage is and it is not healthy for anyone especially the children to be anywhere close to this. We are paying for services, but have not been receiving a proper response from the Council. Despite a number of calls to the offices of the Council and Cllr Patel, the leak has not yet been attended to, several days later. It is very disappointing because the smell is getting worse with each passing day. We demand that as residents, we receive proper and prompt services, which we are paying for but definitely not receiving.”
Michael Pieter of Sapphire Street, told the Laudium Sun, “This is really bad, as I often come to the park to relax, but now I cannot even go there because of the smell from the leaking drain is unbearable. The odour is so strong that it gets into my nerves and makes it impossible to sit or walk near the park. This place is supposed to be peaceful, but the sewage leakage has completely ruined it. The Council workers should fix the blockage immediately because we cannot continue living with this foul odour every day.”
Sufiyan Khan, also of Sapphire Street, told the Laudium Sun, “The officials must attend to this problem immediately as the sewage is leaking so badly and is spreading across the whole street. This poor service by the Municipality is unacceptable.”
*The Laudium Sun contacted the Tshwane Council on Tuesday (Nov 25) and we were assured that the matter will receive urgent attention.